Firefighters Rescue Man Stuck In Trash Chute

A bizarre rescue in D.C., where firefighters pulled a man out of a trash chute early Sunday morning.

Author:
Stephanie Ramirez, Janice Park

Published:
5:34 PM EDT July 24, 2017

Updated:
5:34 PM EDT July 24, 2017

A bizarre rescue in D.C., where firefighters pulled a man out of a trash chute early Sunday morning.

A DC Fire & EMS spokesperson says the incident happened around 3 a.m. at 777 7th St. NW. That’s the “Residences at Gallery Place” apartment building in the Chinatown section of D.C.

DC Fire & EMS tweeted out photos of the rescue. Their spokesperson says the man rescued thought he dropped his girlfriend’s cell phone down the trash chute with the garbage and leaned-in to look down. This is all according to the man rescued. The man placed a hand on the back wall of the chute but his hand slipped, and he fell from the third floor.

DCFEMS pumped fresh air into the chute and used a harness-haul method to pull the man out.

The man was not injured mainly in part to falling on his feet and on some trash. Firefighters say he only fell about 10-12 feet and they immediately turned off the trash compactor. Special OPS teams blew air to him using their RAMFAN and used a harness to eventually pull him back to the third floor.

The last time firefighters in D.C. had to rescue someone was a woman in Columbia Heights who also fell in a trash chute about a year and a half ago.

Forty-five miles away in Baltimore, at the Park Charles apartments, two people died in the same trash chute in 2010 and 2011.

Many of the neighbors did not know of the reported rescue.

“I’m never going to have any of my belongings in my hand when I throw the trash down!” said Malissa Gilanchi after seeing the Tweets.

Did he find the girlfriend’s phone? The DC Fire & EMS spokesperson says they are not sure what happened to it, but they know the man was able to call 911 on his cell phone.